March 16, 2009

Basically he asserts that the country is made less safe now because while he was in office, the issue of terrorism was treated as a military one. Now, however, the current president is going back to "law enforcement mode," which is to say hunting down the terrorist and bringing them to trial, which he says is less effective. Never mind that his brand of fighting terrorism never resulted in the capture of the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

He says, in fact, it was this way of treating terrorism that had made them so successful in their fight. He says, "[it is the] concept of military threat that is essential if you’re going to successfully defend the nation against further attacks.”

I guess what irritates me about this is he was the guy who was in charge of the whole Anti-terrorism Task Force that received the now famous [Gary]Hart/[Warren]Rudman report on terrorism that read, in part "mass casualty terrorism directed against the U.S. homeland is of serious and growing concern."

Oh yeah, he was also privy to the Presidential Daily Briefing memo that had the prescient title of "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.''

Of course his reaction to those two memos was to do nothing. He never convened the task force for which he was charged.

In the end after the horrific attacks of 9/11 we gave Afghanistan an ultimatum. Turn over Bin Laden or suffer the consequences. They chose to suffer the consequences. Then we attacked Iraq.

To say that this administration is making us less safe ignores the hotbed of terrorism and the instability of Iraq. Is it quieter now than three years ago, yes it is thank God. But for this guy to even talk about keeping us safe is disgraceful. After all, he was the guy who got not one, not two, not three, not four, but five deferments to Viet Nam because he "had other priorities in the 60s than military service."

Well, the President, and the nation has more important things to do than listen to this windbag who, I honestly feel, has made not only our country less safe, but the world at large.

I think Mr. Cheney would be best served by taking a long hard look in the mirror!

March 13, 2009

Like countless other television viewers, I was addicted to ER when it first premiered. Actually, I'm not sure if I started watching it from day one, but it didn't take long for me to hear about this show and then upon watching it realize that the show was taught, well written, very well acted and timely.

The original cast were, to me, among the best. The actions, interactions, surprises and heartbreak were all part of getting to know and really connect with this group of people whose heartaches and triumphs I sobbed with and cheered.

As the show progressed I don't know that it ever lost its edge, however, for me, I found myself a little less interested. While I could probably watch an episode out of order and follow along fairly well, it seemed to turn more into a bit of a soap opera than a well written and acted drama. Again, this may just be me.

As one original cast member after another left I found myself catching fewer and fewer episodes. Sure, there were times over the last few years when I would tune in. I never experienced the excitement and interest I had when the series first premiered.

I will say, however, that the acting still seems to be one of the most consistent element of the show that I appreciate, even if some of the storylines have been a little weak or thin.

When it was announced that this would be the final season of ER I felt a little pang of sadness. After all, there was a time when I would make sure to be in front of the set on a Thursday night at 10:00pm. And, if for some reason I happened to be out, the good ol' VCR would be set to record the show.

I caught the heavily hyped episode Old Times last night. It was billed as a reunion of original cast members and true to their advertising, some of the old time faves appeared.

The problem with reunions is that you, or more specifically I, expect things to be the way they were when all were together. Never mind that when the show originated Bill Clinton hadn't even finished his first term in office or that some 15 years had passed. Even in television life (unless you're The Simpsons) you can't remain in place, never changing for 15 years.

It wasn't until the show ended that I realized how much I enjoyed the reunion which wasn't really much of a reunion in fact.

Stop reading if you don't want to know a spoiler which...maybe really isn't a spoiler, but be warned.

One of my favorites of the original cast Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle) is awaiting a liver (or was it kidney?) transplant. Don't ask how he got to this point because I have no idea. But the story revolved, in part, on Carter having to wait for his liver/kidney/whatever from a dead boy on the West Coast.

A nice, if all too brief appearance by Susan Sarandon as the boys grandmother was a great touch, but one of the best appearances was the return of Julianna Margulies and George Clooney. The great thing about their appearance was that they seemed to fit together so well. As if no time had passed.

Originally I wanted there to be some tension, or some overt familiarity or just anything that would tie them in to their on again, off again relationship from so many years ago. But it occurred to me, only afterward, that the best example of their successful relationship was that they didn't have to be overt about anything. They were comfortable with their lives. It had progressed and moved on from those times when tension and angst drove their storyline.

Another aspect I enjoyed, only later, was the fact that these two characters worked on obtaining the transplant organ having no idea that the recipient as Dr. Carter, a friend to both, a best friend to the George Clooney character.

In the end, it made perfect sense. They had all moved on. The key word being moved. They weren't stuck in their old storylines, they had moved on, and the best reward for any die hard fan; they all ended up happily ever after.

March 12, 2009

Someone once asked me what gets my blood to boil. The answer was easy; Injustice.

If there were a second, it would probably be hypocracy...well, maybe not second, but hypocracy would be on the list.

So there's news today that Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol and her fiancee Levi have called off their wedding. Remember the kids? They of the unmarried, barely out of school with a kid on the way variety?

To say I'm not surprised is ... well not surprising. I think the situation would have been much different if Ms. Palin were living at One Observatory Circle now instead of Vice President and Dr. Biden. Where Palin living there, I have no doubt the wedding would still be on the books, and a lavish wedding it would have been.

What agrivates me about this is the attitude some on the right had when it was announced that the vice presidential candidate's daughter was pregnant ... out of wedlock.

They lavished a great deal of support on the family Palin. We were told the issue was a family matter and not for public debate or discussion. Never mind it was the office of the grandmother-to-be who issued the notice.

This closing of ranks, this unyeilding support flew in the face of the Right Wing's attacks on other unmarried couples. I honestly couldn't help wonder what Palin herself would have said had someone told her that a young woman of color was pregnant but the mother to be had decided not hold off on a wedding.

I am angry at Palin who handled the situation publicly, supporting her child and soon to be grandchild, while at the same time attacking liberals for their lack of family values and patriotism.

Of course the irony in all of this is Palin was partially right. She should have suporter her daughter once she knew about the situation. And while I don't know that the kids were forced into a future marriage, I can't imagine that they both planned this and then decided to wait to be married.

If Palin and the rest of the republican party showed as much compassion for other unwed mothers or struggling families in general, then maybe they'd be in the White House and we'd be happily looking forward to a national wedding. Not because they were forced into it, but because their parents truly supported it...and them.

March 11, 2009

While I have an uncanny ability to remember a great many things from long ago, apparently I also have an uncanny ability to remember things as being in different frames of time than they actually occurred.

Ask me about television shows from the 70s and, for the most part, I can generally tell you what night of the week they broadcast, who starred in them and maybe even how long they ran. But as I got older, being able to lock things down to even a five year span seems to have eluded me.

Maybe it was because I spent so much time watching TV when I was a kid. It's funny, and I may have written about this before, but while I enjoyed watching TV, movies were my main love. I subscribed to the notion that TV, being free, couldn't be better than a movie which you actually had to go out and buy a ticket for. So I find it kind of ironic that I have such a memory for television.

I wish I had the same memory for music. I mean I do have specific recollections of songs and have written about them here. But more and more I find myself thinking some artists and songs appears much later than they actually did.

Example is the great song from the Go Go's below. For whatever reason I was convinced it had to have been late 80s. There was no way that the cute Belinda Carlisle and friends could have started that band in 1978. But guess what? They did.

And while one of my favorite songs is the one below, I was certain it was one of their first. Not one that would appear on one of their last albums together.

It occurs to me that memories of the early 80s, or maybe all of the 80s are a little more cloudy than I realized. And no, it's not because I smoked pot and lost some of the time, I never really got into that. I imagine it's just that I had so much fun having fun that taking account of the who's, the what's, the when's didn't seem to matter much.

My memory, watching this video, is of a very fun time. I look at the young women in the band and find them terribly hip, and terribly attractive. I have to remind myself, however, that this video was release 25 years ago and the clothes, the dance, and even the music is dated. But it doesn't stop my love for the song, and doesn't stop me from smiling. Remembering the times I listed to this music feeling, if not actually being, terribly cool.

So, in the end, as the girls say, maybe I've been running so long, I've nearly lost all track of time. But for this song, and ultimately for them, I'm still head over heels.

March 10, 2009

This was a headline for the online version of ABC News for some time today. It's in reference to President Obama.

Is he doing too much too soon?

Really? Is that really a legitimate question? Is this a question that is burning in the minds of millions of unemployed Americans? Is this the question that keeps the millions upon millions of uninsured Americans up at night? Or is it a question that has been posed by a confrontational opposition party that finds itself disintegrating before our very eyes.

Well, I guess any question is legitimate right? What is the old saying? There are no stupid questions? Hmm, this one makes me wonder.

After eight years of a government that has run amok both within and outside our borders, this questions seems dumb to me.

After eight years of a government that has spent so much money that our surplus turned into a massive deficit, this question seems dumb to me.

At the end of eight years of a government that seemingly ignored its citizens, this questions seems dumb to me.

Was I an early Obama supporter? Nope, I wasn't. Does he have my full backing now? You bet he does. Why? well because for the first time that I can truly remember, we have someone who is doing what he said he would do. And that's put people first.

I find it amazingly hypocritical that Republicans are screaming about the impending deficit the presidents stimulus package will leave for our children. Where they heck where they when they controlled both the White House and Congress and spent more money than all other administrations combined?

After all, wasn't it the former Vice President Dick Cheney who said that Ronald Reagan proved deficits didn't matter? Yes it was. They were both wrong of course.

Obviously iIm worried about an even bigger deficit than we have now. But it boils my blood to find the rubber stamp Republicans now screaming that the country is going o hell in a hand basket. WAKE UP GUYS! If we're on the road to ruin, you can't blame the current administration for that.

Back in 1992, a Democratic president had to clean up the mess of the previous 12 years of a right wing White House. Well, it seems as if history is repeating. But now it's going to cost more for the clean up and I'm willing to spend that money because now, at least, I feel like it's going to a very worthy cause.

Is this president moving too fast, too soon? No, he's coming along just fine. In fact, there are other area's I would love for him to begin to focus. But he can only two several dozen things at a time, and I'm willing to wait.

It took eight years of ostrich like behavior to get us where we are today. It may take at least eight years to get us to see the light again.

March 09, 2009

There always seems to be a ton of things to write about. I sit down, start writing, and then it doesn't go the way I thought it would, so I put it away. Of course I have every intention of getting back to it ASAP, but ... there are a ton of drafts for posts that have never made it here, so I think I just need to get back to the point of sitting, writing and posting. I enjoy posting, and writing. That was the main reason for starting a blog. So...back to it.

I'm sure you've all heard about http://icanhascheezburger.com/. They're the people who run a website posting cute ... almost too cute, photos of kitties and other adorable creatures with funny captions.

Say what you will, I'm a sucker for this type of stuff. It's almost like an internet Disneyland for me. You know; Disneyland is the happiest place on earth right? I mean it's good fun with little worry of anything going awry...well, we could talk about their recent mishaps with some of the rides, but I chose to ignore that right now.

Well so this site is like a safe place to visit when news of the world comes crashing in around you. Nothing to make you gasp, or cringe. It's all good cutesy fun. And, again, while some of it is too much for me, I love the fact that for some it's not. I love the innocence of the captions and the photos and love the fact that there are a ton of people, each day, checking it out. It makes me hope the world is a little more compassionate that we are given to believe.

So, when my blog writing goes awry....well, it happens to the best of us.